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If the Girardi-McDonagh pair could add some offense like the DZ-Staal, we would be in a pretty good shape. A 6th defenseman that Tortorella plays more than 8 minutes would be nice to have, though. He clearly doesn't trust Bickel or Eminger enough..

If the Girardi-McDonagh pair could add some offense like the DZ-Staal, we would be in a pretty good shape. A 6th defenseman that Tortorella plays more than 8 minutes would be nice to have, though. He clearly doesn't trust Bickel or Eminger enough..

I remember seeing Gilroy on LD in CT so I imagine he may get a look soon although Eminger has been fine, waaaay better than Bickel

Why? The Staal/MDZ pairing just had a sensational game, and look better each time out. And, we have already seen McD and Girardi perform well together. We now have two pairings that include our four best D-men, that can play 23-25 minutes and night. Why break that up?

Considering this post was from before this season I won't include this short season. The team was better defensively with McDonagh-Girardi as the pair and that's with a shell of Staal's former self playing until the playoffs or no Staal at all.

Staal and MDZ looked great together last game. Girardi and McDonagh have struggled but it would be amiss to disregard how well they played together last season. I'd keep those two pairs intact. They could really use a bruiser to play with Stralman.

As wonderful a job as Girardi's done on the right-side over the last few years, I'd like to see Torts flirt around with the idea of moving McDonagh there and have Marc as his partner. I think it's time to allow our best 2 dmen to opportunity to play together.

Staal-McDonagh
MDZ-Girardi
Bickel/Stralman/Eminger

Give McDonagh the green-light and have him try and expand his offensive game. He's skilled enough to play both sides, imo, although I honestly don't ever recall him playing there throughout his career. I think Marc and Ryan will bring out the best in eachother.

Allowing MDZ to play on the left side with a stay-at-home dmen like Danny G would allow to open up his offensive game as well. I like the physicality this second pair would possess. I don't like MDZ on the third pair, and I don't like his play on the right side.

Third pair is a work in progress. Had Sauer been healthy, I think things would be a little more black/white. Stralman was one of our most underrated dmen last season, but I don't think he's a bona fide top-4. Slot him down to the third pair. Give him more PP time.

Do you guys feel Staal-McDonagh and MDZ-Girardi as our top-4 would suffice, or be an improvement over what other alternatives we have?

Agree. I would rather have Staal play with McDonagh and Girardi with MDZ as well!